Presentation No.3
Historic context of piracy
21 Mr. Ove Tvedt (BIMCO) comparing modern piracy and armed robbery against ships and piracy in the last century, observed that while pirates of old operated mainly on the high seas, modern pirates are more likely to be encountered in ports, port approaches and off coastal waters. They also typically attack at night. He described the situation in different parts of the world and the actions that have been taken by the national Governments, IMO and BIMCO to deal with the problem. He spoke of the setting up in 1993 by IMO of a Working Group composed of experts from a number of IMO Member Governments and the preparation of Guidance materials for Governments, shipowners and seafarers on the prevention and suppression of piracy and armed robbery against ships. He continued with the counter-measures taken by the three littoral states of Malacca Strait, (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) which resulted in a marked decline in the number of attacks reported in the area. He produced statistics compiled from reports by BIMCO Member organizations on attacks in the South China Sea, South America, East and West Africa and spoke of the discussions carried out between BIMCO and the Governments concerned which led the Governments taking a number of measures to reduce the incidents of piracy and armed robbery in their waters. He concluded with speaking on the importance of reporting all piracy attacks to the appropriate authorities, and suggested that one way of encouraging this, is for the port authorities to ensure that ships are not delayed or made to incur additional expenses as a result of investigations into any reports they have made.
Presentation No.4
International law and piracy
22 In her presentation, Mrs. B. Olsen (Denmark) spoke about piracy and the law. She identified IMO and the United Nations as two international fora prominent in developing measures aimed at ensuring safety at sea. Even though a number of measures have been developed and implemented, she was of the opinion that more needed to be done because of the increasing incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships. In view of the fact that attacks on merchant ships often occur outside the jurisdiction of the flag State it is essential to clarify the responsibilities of the coastal State in accordance with the 1982 Law of Sea Convention. She went on to explain the provisions of the relevant articles of the Law of the Sea Convention on piracy ad armed robbery, first by making a distinction between the legal difference between piracy and armed robbery and the actions allowed and liability of the State in each case.
Mrs. Olsen referred to Article 105 which contains the provisions on seizure of a private ship and the jurisdiction on the high seas. Article 107 contains provisions on the seizure of pirate ships by warships on the high seas and the safeguards governing the right to intervene by warships. In conclusion she spoke of the right of "hot pursuit" as contained in article III and the conditions under which such rights can be exercised.
Presentation No.5
IMO Guidelines to seafarers on preventing and suppressing piracy and armed robbery against ships
23 Mr. W. Steinvorth (ITF) presented the statistics prepared by IMO and IMB on piracy and armed robbery world-wide and observed that the number of incidents reported was increasing year by year. He regretted that of the 297 incidents reported in 1997, there were only 30 cases in which action was reported to have been taken by the coastal State. He informed the meeting of the measures that have been taken by IMO, IMB, ISF, ICS, BIMCO and ITF over the years and saw these efforts as evidence of the commitment of the social partners, Governments and non-governmental organizations involved in the shipping industry to prevent acts of piracy and around robbery against ships. While recognizing the legal distinction between piracy and armed robbery against ships he was of the opinion that such distinction is irrelevant to seafarers because the consequences of both acts were the same to them. He spoke of the new features of unlawful acts committed at sea which now include hijacking of ships and an increasing number of attacks carried out by highly trained people using sophisticated weapons. He saw the need for all those involved in the shipping industry to address the following areas of concern to seafarers by jointly developing guidelines on:
